MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

8/27 Castro deal close

Could Starlin Castro have a new contract on Tuesday? His agent, Paul Kinzer, was at Wrigley Field on Monday to meet with the Cubs front office and finalize details of what is reportedly a seven-year, $60 million contract extension. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported late Monday that Castro’s contract would include a $6 million signing bonus with salaries of $5 million for 2013 and 2014; $6 million in 2015; $7 million in 2016; $9 million in 2017; $10 million in 2018; and $11 million in 2019. There is a club option of $16 million or a $1 million buyout. If Castro wins the Most Valuable Player award, or finishes first through fifth twice, the final year of the deal and the option year each escalate by $2 million. The deal would cover all four years of arbitration plus at least two free agent years.

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